


Lucky Date

by PinkPandorafrog



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Lucky the Dog - Freeform, Ridiculously fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 12:40:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5540399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PinkPandorafrog/pseuds/PinkPandorafrog
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy gets herself some coffee just like every morning, but this morning she finds a new friend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lucky Date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Nemhaine42](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nemhaine42/gifts).



Darcy had made a new friend. It was a little strange, she'd gotten the little tray of coffee and gone back outside and was just checking her phone to make sure she didn't need to pick up anything else before she headed into work, and when she looked down there was a puppy sitting in front of her. Like, directly sitting right in front of her, wagging its little tail and looking up at her with a tongue-lolling grin. It was some kind of mutt, but it was definitely well cared-for and had a collar on.

“Hi there.” More furious tail-wagging. “You're adorable, aren't you?” No leash attached to the collar, maybe whoever it belonged to had gone into the coffee shop. “Okay, I gotta go to work now.” She tried to step around the puppy, but it took three steps to be entirely clear that the puppy was _following_ her. Like, heeling like a good dog and everything.

Darcy's teeth closed around her lower lip and she looked up at the coffee shop. She could hang out for a couple minutes to see if the owner came out. She didn't want to be accused of puppy-napping, no matter how adorable the little guy was. “Okay. I've got a few minutes, okay?” She pulled out one of the empty chairs in front of the coffee shop and sat down, depositing her tray of coffee on the table.

The puppy stood up on its hind legs, front paws going on her thighs as it looked up at her, tail still fanning back and forth. She reached out to pet it, rubbing its little head between soft, furry ears. “You are a good dog, aren't you?”

About ten minutes later, no one had claimed the dog. The line inside wasn't _that_ long. Darcy was starting to shiver despite her thick woolen coat and scarf. Worse yet, the puppy was shivering too. She sighed as she looked down at it. “I've got to get to work. I can't leave you out here, though, can I?” It took only a second to decide.

She got to her feet and stooped down to scoop up the puppy, shifting it in her arms so that she could pick up the tray of coffee as well. She'd take it to work with her and call the local businesses to see if anyone had misplaced a puppy.

The little dog seemed perfectly content all snuggled up with her as she walked along the sidewalk as quickly as she could manage. Luckily it wasn't too far before she got to work, the little yarn store called _Loose Ends_. Normally it was a part-time thing to help her pay for university, but since school had let out for the winter and there was a lot more traffic, she'd gone up to full time hours for a couple weeks. She pitched in wherever she was needed: up front, social media, knitting demonstrations. “Hey, Lisa,” she called as she let herself in and relocked the door behind her.

The dark-haired woman came out from behind the curtain that separated the back room from the store front. “That's an interesting purse.” Lisa's eyes were fixed directly on the dog in Darcy's arms.

“I know. He came up to me while I was getting coffee and wouldn't stop following me. It is _freezing_ out there.” Darcy walked forward and placed the tray of coffee on the front counter. “I figured I'd call around and put some stuff up on the internet to see if anyone's misplaced him. He's obviously someone's.”

Lisa came around the counter and patted the furry little head, smiling a little when he licked her hand. “I'll get some water for him if you want to open up.”

Darcy had been fairly positive that her boss would be cool with her bringing a random dog to work, but it was a little bit of a relief to hear that. “Yeah.”

The puppy was constantly underfoot as she moved around the store getting everything ready to open for the day, only stopping briefly when Lisa came back into the store with a bottle of water that she emptied into a bowl for him. He slurped at it a little, then was back to being Darcy's shadow.

Calling around between customers revealed that no one had reported a missing dog. He didn't really seem to be bothered by the people moving in and out, and when he fell asleep it was on an old blanket folded up behind the counter and tucked in the corner by Darcy's feet. And he didn't bark. Ever. That seemed a little weird, but he was the quietest dog Darcy had ever met.

The day wore on, and she was getting a little bit worried. She wasn't set up to have a dog overnight, and by the time she got out of there it would be too late to try and take him to a shelter.

She was just getting ready to head out for the evening when the bell above the door jangled. They weren't closing, but Lisa would take care of the last couple of hours on her own. It was always busier in the morning anyway.

Darcy looked up to see a blond man in a dark jacket walking towards her. The puppy left her side for the first time, running over to the man and jumping up on his legs. This was the first time the pup had reacted like that, maybe this was his owner.

“Hey.” He bent down to pick the dog up and straightened again, his eyes never leaving her. Was that a bandaid across his nose. “You found my dog.” The dog sure seemed to think this was his person, he was giving the man's face a thorough wash with his tongue.

She nodded. “Yeah, this morning. He wouldn't stop following me. It was too cold to leave him out there, so...” He didn't look mad, hopefully he didn't think she was trying to steal him. “I didn't feed him, but he's had water.”

“Thank you. I had to leave town this morning, just got back. He must have gotten out.” Long fingers stroked over the dog's ears. “Sorry, I hope he wasn't too much trouble. He's deaf.”

That explained the silence. “No, he's a sweetheart, it was no problem at all.” Darcy gave the man a genuine smile. She looked at him for a second before turning to look over her shoulder. “Hey, Lisa,” she called towards the back room. “I'm headed out.”

“Yeah. Seeya in a couple days,” Lisa called back. The bell on the door would let her know if anyone else came in, and Darcy was fairly sure this guy wasn't here to browse.

She let herself out of the store, holding the door for the guy. He followed her outside. She was just about to turn away to go and catch her train, but the guy stopped her. “Hey. Can I buy you coffee? To thank you. And I don't think Lucky wants you to go yet.”

She turned to face him to see the dog was whining and struggling in the man's arms, his little brown eyes directly on her. “Wow, he sure gets attached.”

“I've found him to be a pretty good judge of character.” The man gave her an easy smile, the corners of his blue eyes crinkling a little as he looked down at her. He had a nice smile. “You must be good people...” He trailed off, giving her an expectant look.

“Darcy. I'm Darcy.”

“I'm Clint. This is Lucky.” He looked at her for a little longer. “Coffee?”

Her gaze moved between the little dog and his admittedly rather attractive owner. Somehow the band-aid seemed to add character. “Sure.”

Coffee turned out to be more dinner. Clint took her to a little diner where they seemed to know both he and Lucky, and he ordered himself a piece of steak that he ended up splitting with the little dog. Darcy figured what the hell and got herself a cheeseburger, though Lucky kept trying to steal fries right off her plate. It was impossible to stay mad at him, though, when he looked at her with actual puppy dog eyes. “You're lucky you're so cute,” she told him, giving his ears a scratch.

“That's what I keep telling him,” Clint said. “I wasn't really looking for a dog, but he just kinda turned up one day.”

“Yeah, I know that feeling.” Darcy nodded. Apparently it was a habit.

“I should get your number.” Clint picked up the linen napkin and wiped his mouth and fingers. “I mean, Lucky's gonna want to see you again, right? I don't want him to run off searching for you.”

Smiling, she shook her head. “Yeah, sure.” She took the phone he handed her and added her number in before handing it back. “There. I've got the next couple days off, too.”

His eyes widened a little as he tucked the phone back in his pocket. “How do you feel about pizza? It's one of his favorite things.”

She nodded again. “I like pizza.”

“Great. I'll text you tomorrow.” Clint looked at her for a long moment before he got to his feet. “His favorite pizza place isn't too far from here.”

Which meant Clint was probably pretty local to the area. “That's cool, it's not too far from here to get home.” She picked up her purse and slid out of the booth, stretching her back a little as she straightened up. “I'll see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah.” He looked down at the little dog in his arms. “Now, I don't kiss on the first date, but I think Lucky wants one.”

She gave him an incredulous grin, but leaned towards the fluffy little dog. Sure enough, she felt the slightly rough glide of Lucky's pink tongue against her cheek. “That's honestly one of the best post-date kisses I've had in a long time.”

“Don't worry, I'm sure there's a lot more where that came from.”

They walked together out to the street, and Darcy turned again to head to catch her train, but she heard Lucky whining again. It just about broke her heart how pathetic and sad he sounded. Sighing, she turned back towards them. “Hey. He's killing me. What are your plans now?”

Clint grinned at her. “We were gonna go for a walk and then head home for some TV.”

She made a face, reaching out to scratch between the puppy's ears. “I can't believe I'm asking this, but do you want company?”

The grin somehow grew, and Clint nodded. “Of course.”

They ambled down the sidewalk together, Lucky happily staying at their ankles. He was pretty content to stay with them when they were together despite Clint not having a leash for him.

“He's a pretty good dog,” Darcy remarked as they went along. “Well trained, I mean. How do you manage if he can't hear you?”

“Sign language.” She looked over to see him tap his ear, and she noticed the plastic shape hooked around the back of his ear. “I think that's part of the reason he loves me so much, we have something in common.”

She nodded. “So why has he adopted me?”

“I told you, he's a pretty good judge of character. Probably knew you were the kind of woman to take care of a lost dog.” He nudged her gently with his elbow.

That wasn't wrong. “I was getting a little worried what I was going to do with tonight if no one showed up to claim him. I mean, take him home, obviously, but I don't have dog food or anything like that. I'm pretty glad you showed up.”

“Aw, he'll eat anything. Everything if you let him.”

 _Home_ turned out to be the Avengers Tower. So that was a thing. Darcy didn't say anything about it, it wasn't like she hadn't been there before to visit Jane up in her lab or Thor when he was on the planet.

But Clint had a tiny decorated tree up on a table in front of the balcony, and she could already see a gigantic gift for Lucky wrapped up underneath it.

They all sat together on his couch, watching the giant TV up on the wall. She ended up tucked against Clint's side with his arm around her, the weight of Lucky's head solid against her knee. For a little puppy he had a heavy head when he was sleeping. The last thing she remembered before drifting off to sleep was how thinking ridiculously comfortable she was.

 

**Author's Note:**

> SO FLUFFY. For the DLSS!


End file.
